Allusions To Mesopotamian and Greek Mythologies in Modern Sports

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

College of physical education and sport sciences/ University of Baghdad

Abstract

The famous ancient Olympic Games were founded to honor the Greek god Zeus. Therefore they were banned for their pagan rituals after the rise of Christianity. In Mesopotamia, however, similar games were founded even before the Olympic Games for the same reason, honoring the Mesopotamian deities. With the rise of Judaism, Christianity and Islam those deities were renounced as being pagan. Ironically, since the revival of the Olympic Games, all rituals and pagan gods were revived with them and on a global scale, one can see an encyclopedia of Mesopotamian and Greek deities in team logos, team names, sport companies, Olympic medals, coins and stamps for they all carry their pictures in glorious representations. The aim of this research is to identify the allusion to ancient mythologies in modern sports including Mesopotamian mythology and Greek mythology. In addition, the researchers aimed to identify the reasons for these extensive allusions to ancient gods considered by many religions as pagan. A survey of the most famous sport medals, coins and teams' logos, sport companies and team names with allusions to these ancient mythologies was conducted. A detailed account of the most famous deities in the modern world of sports was given. The researchers concluded that the world of sport is a global encyclopedia of ancient pagan mythologies.

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